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Causes of overpopulation - Kenya

Content guide

High birth rates due to «):

Lack of contraception/family planning (lack of availability, affordability, education)
Lack of education about consequences of large families
Religious influences (some religions are against contraception)
Cultural influences (traditional attitudes encourage large families)
Lack of education for women/many women don’t have careers
High infant mortality (parents have more children to increase chances of survival)
Economic need for large families (children sent out to work on farms/in homes, etc) / dependence on agriculture
Lack of pensions/ lack of government support for old age

Declining death rates due to «):

Improvements health care
Improvements in sanitation
Improvements in water supply
More food supply

Place specific reference: Named parts of the chosen country, Population data, etc.

Introduction:

Between 1969 & 2019, Kenya's population increased from 10.9 million to 54 million.
According to recent UN projections, Kenya’s population will grow by around 1 million each year (3000 people every day), and reach 85 million by 2050.

Birth rate & fertility:

High fertility in previous decades has resulted in more families in Kenya today.
Kenya has a high rate of natural increase of 4% and a fertility rate of 8.1 births per woman.

Lack of contraception & family planning (including religious influences):

Many Kenyans continue to live in poverty, and have no access to family planning.
The 1977-1978 Kenya Fertility Survey showed that only 5.8% of married women were using modern contraception.
Kenya is deeply religious, with 85% Christians and 10% Muslims. As a result, over 1/3rd of Kenyans believe that contraception is morally unacceptable.

Large families (due to tradition, economic need, etc):

Kenyans have families of at least 7 children, as children are traditionally viewed as essential to the status of the rural population.
Children are also a means of survival as they set out to work early, to provide for their families.

Lack of education (including high IMR due to lack of skilled doctors):

Fertility is highest among women with less education of only about 1-4 years.
Less than ½ of the births are attended by skilled doctors or midwives, resulting in high infant mortality rates; women keep having children to increase their chances of giving birth to a healthy child.

Early marriages:

50% of the population lies below the poverty line, so early marriages are common.
As a result, many adolescents have sex before 15, contributing to high birth rates.

Declining death rates & Improvements in life expectancy:

Improved healthcare and nutrition have led to significant decline in infant mortality
Life expectancy is projected to increase from 54 yrs today to 68 yrs by 2050.

Impacts of overpopulation - Kenya

Content guide

Poverty; people do not have enough resources
Lack of work/unemployment
Inadequate food supplies/malnourishment/starvation
Poor access to health care/government has to spend more on healthcare
Poor access to education/government has to spend more on education
Housing/shelter is overcrowded; shanty towns develop; many are homeless
Inadequate water supply/government has to spend more on water supply
Lack of sanitation/government has to spend more on sanitation
Pressure on energy supplies (or example)/strain on utilities e.g. gas or electricity
Traffic congestion
Air/water pollution
Overuse of agricultural land/overgrazing
Deforestation/loss of natural vegetation/habitats;

Place specific reference: Named parts of the chosen country, Population data, etc.

Inadequate food supplies:

With the increasing population, local food needs and livelihoods are being ignored (food exported to UK), which has led to high prices and lack of food supplies.
14.5 million Kenyans face food insecurity and poor nutrition each year.
26% children under the age of 5 are severely malnourished.

Overuse of agricultural land, Unemployment:

With overuse of land, 67% of farmers now don’t have sufficient land holding to distribute among their children.
Therefore 80% of unemployed Kenyans are below the age of 35.
Approximately 800,000 young Kenyans enter the labour market every year, and youth unemployment is estimated to be 35%.

Lack of sanitation:

With overcrowding and development of squatter settlements, 47% of poorest households practise open defecation.

Inadequate water supply:

According to the World Bank (2010), only less than half the rural population has access to water.
Due to continued population growth, it is estimated that by 2025, Kenya’s water availability will be 235 cubic metres per year, 2/3rds less than the current 650 cubic metres.

Poor access to education:

In 2019, about 1 million children were still not in primary school.
The pupil-teacher ratios (PTR) in pre-primary and secondary schools were below the national norm of 1:35.

Poor access to healthcare:

The lack of education has resulted in fewer skilled doctors.
With the rapid increase in epidemics, the number of people per doctor has increased greatly, due to which the majority of the population have no access to healthcare.

Traffic congestion: has become a major issue, and the city of Nairobi is now ranked the world's 4th most congested city.

Causes of underpopulation - Australia

Content guide

birth rates remain low
low in death rates/reasons for reduction
availability of contraception
contraception – affordability
contraception – education about it
modern attitudes to family size
women have careers
education of women
emancipation of women
impact of secular society
low infant mortality rates
government support for old age;
government anti–natal policy etc.

Place specific reference: Named parts of the chosen country, Population data etc.

Introduction:

As of 30 June, 2022, Australia had a population of 25.9 million people and land area of 7.69 million km².
With low birth and death rates, Australia’s natural increase is low - only 1.1%.
However, Australia has the 9th highest immigrant population in the world with 6.7 million immigrants, which makes up 28.2% of its population.

Low fertility:

Low fertility rate of 1.79 births per woman.
Birth rate in 2023 was 12.085 births per 1000 people, a 1.3% decline from 2022.

Contraception + education about it:

Adult literacy is high at 99% and 90% of the population has 21 years of education. Increased education has increased contraception.
More than 44% of women aged 18-49 years reported using contraception, and government programs like the PBS make birth control pills more affordable.
Access to birth control allows greater freedom to choose family size.

Low birth rates - Impact of secular society:

The percentage of secular Australians rose to 38.9% in 2022, from 30.1% in 2016.
The percentage of Christians has fallen from 52.1% in 2016 to 43.9%.
This has increased use of contraceptives and family planning methods.

Low infant mortality: Health care provision is excellent, which contributes to low infant mortality rates - 2.8 deaths per 1000 live births.

Government support for old age: Australia is home to the world's 4th best pension system.

Impacts of underpopulation - Australia

Content guide

shortage of workers
low level of production
resources under-used
high taxes
lack of government income
small market for goods and services

low value of exports, etc.

Place specific reference: Named parts of the chosen country, Population data etc.

Shortage of workers:

Low replacement rates and retiring of ageing population.
A report commissioned by the former Commonwealth Government revealed that Australia faces a shortfall of almost 200,000 workers by 2050.

Low level of production + small market for goods and services:

Low production: 334.737 barrel/day in Dec 2021, compared to 351.344 barrel/day in Dec 2020.
Deflation in prices, due to small market for goods and services.
Decline in manufacturing - it now contributes to only 6% of the GDP.

Resources & facilities under-used:

Rich in resources like coal, iron ore, copper, gold, and uranium, and exports are worth 200 billion dollars. They have more resources than necessary.
Schools, hospitals, public transport links are closing down as there are not enough people to support them. This increases reliance on cars.

Lack of government income + High taxes:

There are less people paying tax, and 43% of the labour force is due to retire in the next 20 years.
Government income is low, which encourages increased taxation.
Thus taxes from individuals and businesses are among the highest in the world.

Rising conflicts:

Labour shortage attracts foreign immigrants.
Too many immigrants results in clashes of cultures. Many immigrants can’t speak English, which has led to problems in many areas of Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide.
In April 2019, 50 Muslims in New Zealand were killed in an attack by an Australian white supremacist.

Population policy - China’s One Child Policy

Introduction:

The anti-natalist One-Child Policy was a Chinese government policy to control population growth.
Between 1950-1960, the population in China grew rapidly, creating pressure on infrastructure and resources.
By the late 70s, China’s population was approaching the 1 billion mark, and this began to outpace the food supply.
The policy was formulated in 1979, in the hope that the population would get to 1.2 billion in 2025 instead of 1.8 billion.
It was discontinued in 2015.

Exceptions:

If the first child was handicapped, a second was allowed
Twins were acceptable
The policy was well accepted in urban areas, but faced some resistance in the agrarian communities. Therefore in rural families, a second child was allowed if the first was not a boy.

Incentives:

Financial incentives included 5-10% salary bonuses, preferential housing and job opportunities.
Education & healthcare benefits were given to those who complied with the policy.

Penalties:

For those who violated, there were fines, salary reductions, reduced maternity leave and reduced child tax credits.
At times, women even underwent forced abortions and sterilisations.

Enforcement:

Granny Police were older women entrusted to regularly check on couples of childbearing age.
They even accompanied women to contraception appointments to make sure they attended.

Furthermore:

The age of marriage was increased: Men could not get married until they were 22 and women 20.
Couples had to apply to get married and have a baby, and work-place bosses could grant permission for workers to have a child.
The benefits of small families were advertised.
Women were educated and encouraged to take up jobs or careers
Contraception & education about contraception were available.
Abortion was legalised.

General impacts:

The fertility rate decreased after 1980: Fertility rate in 1930 = 5.5 children per woman; fertility rate in early 2000s = 1.6 children per woman.
The birth rate decreased after 1980.
Overall rate of natural increase (difference between birth & death rate) declined.
The Chinese government estimated that some 400 million births were prevented by the policy, although some analysts dispute this finding.

Positive impacts:

Benefits for families complying with the policy included financial incentives, 5-10% salary bonuses, and greater employment options.
Education & healthcare benefits, preferential housing opportunities were also given to those who complied with the policy.
There was less pressure on schools, food and medical care.
With less time needed for childcare, women became more educated, able to concentrate on their careers, which led to the Empowerment of Urban Daughters movement.
Contraception & education about contraception were available, and abortion was legalised, which gave women opportunities for family planning and increased freedom.

Negative impacts:

As sons were generally preferred over daughters, sex ratios in China became skewed toward males: In 2016 there were 33.59 million more men than women.
Because of the preference for sons, there was a rise in female infanticide, with increaseing number of abortions of female fetuses.
The number of female babies killed, abandoned, or placed in orphanages increased as a result of the policy.
Millions of Chinese parents had to endure strict enforcement methods of the policy, including forced sterilisation and forced abortions.
For those who violated the policy, there were fines worth $370 - $12800 fines, salary reductions, reduced maternity leave and reduced child tax credits.
Couples had to apply to get married and have a baby, and work-place bosses had to grant permission for workers to have a child: this reduced the freedom of families.
It also led to an ageing population: By 2050, those over 64 are predicted to make up almost 33% of the working-age population in China.